Secretion of escherichia coli $\beta$-lactamase from bacillus subtilis with the aid of usufully constructed secretion vector

The secretion vector with promoter and signal sequence region of neutral protease gene (npr) from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was constructed by the technique of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A unique restriction iste was introduced into the 3' of the signal coding region by the synthesis of PCR primer. To demonstrate the function of cloned promoter and signal sequence, we used the E. coli .betha.-lactamase structural gene as a foreign gene. The signal sequence of .betha.-lactamase gene was deleted by Bal31 exonuclease and only mature region was introduced into the secretion vector. Bacillus subtilis cells transformed by the recombinant vector synthesized the fusion protein and were also capable of removing the signal peptide from the original fusion protein, as judged by the assay of .betha.-lactamase activity and secretion into the growth medium by western blotting.